Kristen James: Feeling drained? Ready for spring?

Kristen James

Age: 33

Family: Married with six kids, ages 9 to 17.

Occupation: Author, freelance writer and publisher

About: I'm a wife, mother and author, and I enjoy creative projects and outdoor activities. My husband and I each run our own business and love involving the kids. I worked with two of the kids on a children's book called "Even Animals Get Their Own Room," which they illustrated. My writing website is www.writerkristenjames.com.

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This last week wore me down. I think it’s a delayed time-change reaction mixed with the return of the rain.

I went from a good energy level to struggling to get up in the morning.

Normally, I send kids off to school and start my day, but this last week I found myself going back to sleep.

Thankfully, it’s spring break!

Maybe my body was just a week ahead of schedule.

Maybe I’m waiting for the sun, too. My yard is full of daffodils and hyacinth, and trees everywhere are blooming. I’m hoping my energy returns with the sunshine this week!

I'm sure other moms have felt drained, too, so I went scouting for ways to boost your energy level. I found some simple things that I’ve read in several magazines already, and then some other interesting ideas, too.

Among the normal suggestions, I found:

Get plenty of rest

Drink plenty of water

Take a walk outdoors – helpful on many levels

Exercise more

Eat well

I think most people strive to do all of these.

Here’s some other suggestions that go beyond:

Check your stress level. There’s good stress that pushes us to do something in a situation we can change. Then there’s bad stress. If you can’t change a situation but you’re worrying about it anyway, you might be harming your health.

Watch what you say. Usually we hear, “Watch what you eat,” so this caught my eye. It’s true in a way that, "You are what you eat." It’s also true that, "You are what you think." Speaking negative words can drag you down.

Nurture your brain. This is a good one. If you’re stressed, overwhelmed or exhausted, it’s harder to take time to read a good book, visit with friends or relax, but that might be exactly what you need.

Avoid energy-depleting people. I’ve heard the advice to stay away from people who are always negative or gossip about others, but energy-depleting? Does that mean the same thing? Different sources talk about people who are negative, constantly down on their luck, expecting the worse to happen in every situation, angry all of the time, or even worse: abusive or mean. Yes, it makes sense that the people in your life can affect your energy and general health!

Get a checkup. Of course, everyone has a few days or a week where they feel tired and worn down. That’s normal after fighting an illness, a stressful week, even weather changes, or changes such as Daylight Savings Time. A relaxing weekend might be the fix.

I’m hoping a week off does it for me.

But if you take good care of yourself, and feel worn down without a good reason, it could be a health issue. You might be like me and put it off. Who has time to go to the doctor, after taking kids every other week??

But sometimes you have to make yourself a priority. (Yes, I am preaching to myself here!)

I hope the sunshine, flowers and arrival of spring has you feeling uplifted and excited!

Kristen James is married with six children. Read her Mondays on Douglas County Moms. Also check out her personal website here.